Betaine critically contributes to the control of hepatocellular hydration and provides protection of the liver from different kinds of stress. To investigate how the hepatocellular hydration state affects gene expression of enzymes involved in the metabolism of betaine and related organic osmolytes, we used quantitative RT-PCR gene expression studies in rat hepatoma cells as well as metabolic and gene expression profiling in primary hepatocytes of both wild-type and 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR)-deficient mice. Anisotonic incubation caused coordinated adaptive changes in the expression of various genes involved in betaine metabolism, in particular of betaine homocysteine methyltransferase, dimethylglycine dehydrogenase, and sarcosine dehydrogenase. The expression of betaine-degrading enzymes was downregulated by cell shrinking and strongly induced by an increase in cell volume under hypotonic conditions. Metabolite concentrations in the culture system changed accordingly. Expression changes were mediated through tyrosine kinases, cyclic nucleotide-dependent protein kinases, and JNK-dependent signaling. Assessment of hepatic gene expression using a customized microarray chip showed that hepatic betaine depletion in MTHFR(-/-) mice was associated with alterations that were comparable to those induced by cell swelling in hepatocytes. In conclusion, the adaptation of hepatocytes to changes in cell volume involves the coordinated regulation of betaine synthesis and degradation and concomitant changes in intracellular osmolyte concentrations. The existence of such a well-orchestrated response underlines the importance of cell volume homeostasis for liver function and of methylamine osmolytes such as betaine as hepatic osmolytes.
Keywords: betaine; choline; compatible organic osmolytes; dimethylglycine dehydrogenase.